The worst vehicle to be stuck behind?

Started by OCGuy81, January 21, 2022, 12:48:37 PM

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Semi truck
10 (37%)
School bus
9 (33.3%)
A truck with a trailer hauling something
8 (29.6%)

Total Members Voted: 27

OCGuy81

If passing isn't an option, what's the worst vehicle to be stuck behind?


thspfc


jakeroot

Absolutely a school bus, the average speed would be so low compared to a slow-moving truck.

OCGuy81


formulanone

Trucks that drop pebbles; Staying back 300-500 feet behind it is not realistic, but it at least allows someone else to get in front of you and deal with the worst of it...

Truck carrying chickens: smelly and constantly messing up my windshield.


MATraveler128

#5
I was once stuck behind a Bobcat doing 15mph in a 35. I ended up cutting through a neighborhood to get around it. There was also a time where I was behind a Jeep Grand Cherokee towing a trailer.
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OCGuy81

I feel in the Pacific Northwest, semi trucks are the worst. They really struggle to make it up almost any incline.

webny99

#7
Quote from: thspfc on January 21, 2022, 12:53:20 PM
A farm tractor.

At least in most cases, tractors use the shoulder so traffic can at least get past.

I'm with jakeroot... a school bus would be my pick because if you do get stuck behind one, you are properly stuck unless you find a detour.


plain

My pick would definitely be farm equipment. While school buses are indeed a pain, most of the time they eventually turn off somewhere. Getting stuck behind a tractor or something on a rural road however is an absolute pain in the ass, especially when they refuse to pull off when possible to let the traffic behind them pass. This is especially true when said rural road is a busy 2-lane stretch. Some of the worst I've seen was on US 33 in VA, US 40 in NJ, and US 522 in WV.
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webny99

Quote from: plain on January 21, 2022, 02:54:47 PM
My pick would definitely be farm equipment. While school buses are indeed a pain, most of the time they eventually turn off somewhere. Getting stuck behind a tractor or something on a rural road however is an absolute pain in the ass, especially when they refuse to pull off when possible to let the traffic behind them pass. This is especially true when said rural road is a busy 2-lane stretch. Some of the worst I've seen was on US 33 in VA, US 40 in NJ, and US 522 in WV.

Now I'm curious if farm equipment using the shoulder is as common elsewhere as it is around here (rural Western NY). I've rarely seen it cause an issue for long stretches... although almost all our state routes have proper shoulders and good sightlines, which might not be true elsewhere.

jakeroot

Quote from: webny99 on January 21, 2022, 01:01:50 PM
I'm with jakeroot... a school bus would be my pick because if you do get stuck behind one, you are properly stuck unless you find a detour.

True, although I was mostly going with the OP's premise of "passing not an option". If it were, I might pick the semi option as they are longer and not easy to see around. I have definitely overtaken school buses in-between stops, but overtaking a big truck can be a bit harder.

Mapmikey

i've certainly been stuck behind farm equipment but in general these are brief delays.

the absolute worst for me has been coal trucks in WV or TN.  you can be stuck for many miles going 20 mph because they can't carry hills and the roads have nowhere to make a pass and few if any places to pull off to the side if the dumptruck driver were so inclined.

JayhawkCO


GaryV

My wife says RV's should be restricted to their own roads, so the rest of us can keep driving at normal speeds.

thspfc

Quote from: webny99 on January 21, 2022, 01:01:50 PM
Quote from: thspfc on January 21, 2022, 12:53:20 PM
A farm tractor.

At least in most cases, tractors use the shoulder so traffic can at least get past.

I'm with jakeroot... a school bus would be my pick because if you do get stuck behind one, you are properly stuck unless you find a detour.
The roads immediately near where I live are narrow two lane 45 MPH farm roads except with elevated traffic due to surrounding subdivisions. The biggest tractors clog up their full lane plus a chunk of the other one. You have to wait for a flat stretch to pass them. At busy hours, a dozen cars might be following a tractor going 20 MPH.

1995hoo

I once got stuck on US-501 near Brookneal, Virginia, behind a truck that was hauling some sort of wood chips and its rear doors were not secured, so the chips were coming out of the truck almost like a blizzard. I should have just pulled off the road and waited 10 or 15 minutes before continuing, but I was stubborn and simply backed off a ways to try to minimize the annoyance.

I don't find farm tractors to be the most annoying because I will pass them over a double yellow line as long as I'm not on a blind curve or a hill. webny99 mentions tractors being driven on the shoulder, but there's not always a shoulder available. I once got stuck behind one in this general area east of Charlottesville and I couldn't really pass over the double yellow because I was perhaps fifth on line behind the tractor. Its driver was waving people to pass when he could see it was clear, but at least one driver wasn't willing to do it, presumably because of the double yellow line. The fact that I was starting to have to take a massive leak just made it that much more annoying.
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MATraveler128

Some other ones that are annoying :

Horse trailers - Only because being behind one with the windows down on a warm day with the smell of horse poop coming out the back.

Oversized load trucks - They drive dangerously slow on the highway because they're always pulling houses or something.
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SkyPesos

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hbelkins

Quote from: Mapmikey on January 21, 2022, 03:35:42 PM
i've certainly been stuck behind farm equipment but in general these are brief delays.

the absolute worst for me has been coal trucks in WV or TN.  you can be stuck for many miles going 20 mph because they can't carry hills and the roads have nowhere to make a pass and few if any places to pull off to the side if the dumptruck driver were so inclined.

Tennessee (and Kentucky) not so much, but West Virginia is good for having truck turnouts on a lot of its state roads in the coalfields. They aren't very long, but they provide ample opportunity to pass slow-moving trucks trying to climb a hill.


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OCGuy81

Quote from: BlueOutback7 on January 21, 2022, 04:24:28 PM
Some other ones that are annoying :

Horse trailers - Only because being behind one with the windows down on a warm day with the smell of horse poop coming out the back.

Oversized load trucks - They drive dangerously slow on the highway because they're always pulling houses or something.

I'd add triple trailers to the list, though I seldom see them off of the interstate.

jakeroot

Quote from: 1995hoo on January 21, 2022, 04:19:12 PM
[The tractor] driver was waving people to pass when he could see it was clear, but at least one driver wasn't willing to do it, presumably because of the double yellow line.

Interesting, I would think most drivers would know that you can pass over a double yellow as long as there is an obstruction, which a very slow moving vehicle (less than half the limit?) would certainly qualify as.

CtrlAltDel

A truck passing another truck at 0.02 miles per hour.
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Takumi

I once got stuck behind a combine on a very remote back road. It took up both lanes of the road so it was impossible to pass.
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MATraveler128

There was a time when I was on a road trip and we were on I-87 southbound in New York and we're behind someone in the fast lane who was going the same speed as the semi next to him. New York and Connecticut are known for left lane campers.
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hotdogPi

Quote from: BlueOutback7 on January 21, 2022, 05:50:33 PM
New York and Connecticut are known for left lane campers.

Very surprised about Connecticut. Greater Boston is known for being one of the few areas in the US without people going slowly in the left lane. If you try to go 55 in the left lane, you will get run over.
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